Urban Housing
Design of a residential complex and urban regeneration of Milan's Ring Road area 
Academic Work. January, 2022

The project is centered around Milan's encircling ring road, a significant infrastructure that both divides and links the city's most concentrated areas. Similar to many other major European cities such as Paris and Barcelona, the ring road has transformed into a genuine urban space. The key question is: can the quality of the spaces along the ring road be improved through the design of residential buildings and relatively small public space interventions?

The idea originated from the discovery of a drained canal system, prompting further investigation into the city's current and historical hydrological systems. Milan has a rich canal history, with these waterways once playing a vital role in the city similar to Venice.

With this in mind, I chose to symbolically reintroduce the presence of water in the same location where the canal once flowed, making it a central element of the site. Following the north-south axis, one urban strategy aimed to connect separate zones and rejuvenate the area behind the rail bridge, which currently lacks accessibility despite its significant potential due to its direct access and visual connection with the existing river. Removing pedestrian barriers such as water and the rail bridge was crucial. Recognizing the discomfort of walking along the ring road, an additional important urban intervention was enhancing the pedestrian promenade, providing an alternative route to bypass the ring road.